Pitt vs. Marquette Postgame Quotes
1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2009
Pitt Head Coach Agnus Berenato:
“This was a great win. I felt our team was inspired, especially with the Petersen’s returning to their home as our guest coaches. It’s an honor playing in front of the namesake of our court. All of the girls really stepped up tonight. Shavonte Zellous really distributed the ball and she was very vocal and encouraging to her teammates. This was a breakout game for Pepper Wilson, she was rebounding and she was blocking. Her stat line for this game is amazing. I feel when Shayla Scott has a strong game, everyone has a good game. It gives our team confidence. We came into this game, afraid of having a let-down game and we didn’t let that happen.”
On Pepper Wilson:
“She really works hard in practice and we’re really tough on her. I thought that tonight she played huge. She was mobile, agile and hostile.”
On Shavonte Zellous and Pitt’s play:
“Tonight the game came to Shavonte. She had a great shot selection. She went out and she was rebounding, she was playing defense, she was making some great assists, and she was talking to her team. When that all happens, the game comes to her and she feels as if she doesn’t need to score all the points. Our team is a very giving team. They all have a great sense of family. They are happier when someone else does something good. I think that’s great.”
On Notre Dame:
“Every game in this conference is a battle. The girls will have fun until the next time we practice. Then we’re focused on Notre Dame. It’s what happens in this league, you move to the next game and that’s it. We’re not looking ahead past Notre Dame.”
On the two losses to Providence and DePaul:
“That was awhile ago. It happens in this league. There’s nothing wrong with us, but those two losses keep coming up. We’ve had some spectacular wins. This past road trip we had against Syracuse, Seton Hall and Georgetown was a gut check for us. We came out and weathered the storm.”
On Pitt’s defense:
“We try to work on defense in practice. I thought tonight we still had a few more fouls than we’d like, but we held them to 26 percent shooting. Defense is something that Pitt wants to be known for and it’s something that comes from within.”
Pitt center Pepper Wilson:
“The coaches have been on me to get out there and rebound and box out, so I made it a point to come out and do that. I felt that once I do that then the scoring will come, but I was focused on my defense.”
On the Big East:
“The Big East is tough. When we lost those two games, we went into Providence and they were picked in the preseason polls to finish near the bottom, so maybe we took them too lightly. It just gave us a chance to come back and really step up our game.”
Pitt senior Shavonte Zellous:
“I give credit to my teammates. They distributed and rebounded the ball well. I was able to put up 31 points because of my team. The Big East is tough, but the coaches told us not to let it scare us. I thought with those two losses, it helped motivate us to be better and hopefully it will help us achieve that one goal in the end.”